documenting life and love for modern families

San Diego family photographer David H works on-location using natural light to capture artful and emotive portraits of children and their family's. with a lighthearted approach and embrace of spontaneity, our sessions are always a balance between lots of fun and lots of creativity!
our sessions are offered at the location of your choice, including outdoor locations as well as in-home. if you're wanting outdoor portraits, we have lots of suggestions for some of the best spots in San Diego! there's plenty of favorites to choose from: neighborhood parks, flowery meadows, the beach, etc. San Diego definitely has a lot of beautiful scenery to offer, but sometimes the best spots are right at home! it all comes down to this: family portraits have a much more natural and relaxed vibe to them just about anytime they're done somewhere familiar...indoors or out!
portrait sessions are available throughout San Diego county. some of the areas we frequently travel to are: La Jolla, Del Mar, Solana Beach, Sunset Cliffs, Point Loma, Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, Carlsbad, Cardiff, Encinitas, Rancho Santa Fe, La Mesa, Poway, Lakeside, Escondido, Vista, San Marcos, Coronado, Leucadia, Santee, 4S Ranch, Oceanside, and more. sessions are also available throughout Southern California in Orange County, Riverside, and Los Angeles. arrangements can also be made for travel to further locations, including most domestic and select international destinations.
if you're interested in learning more about HAPPY HEARTS and our refreshing and unique approach to modern family photography, please check out the 'about' section of our site.
check out these pages for more information about the types of portraits we offer:
maternity photography, newborn photography, baby photography, children's photography, family photography, and engagement photography for couples in love...
you can also visit our photography blog for behind the scenes content, updates, specials, photography news, and random thoughts.

{MATERNITY}
David's very first paid commission as a family photographer was for a series of maternity portraits. so it's always held a special place in his heart. from belly to baby, it's one of the sweetest times to document...

scheduling maternity portraits:
maternity photography is offered year round and special arrangements are made with our schedule whenever possible to accommodate any last minute bookings. we recommend waiting until at least your 28th week of pregnancy and encourage waiting even longer in some cases (so long as you're comfortable) so that we can photograph and document your full baby bump!

{NEWBORN}
following David's first paid commission as a maternity photographer, was his very first paid commission as a newborn photographer! and yes, it was the same client! how amazing it's been to grow along with the families we work with!

scheduling newborn portraits:
like maternity sessions, because of the once in a lifetime timing involved, special arrangements are made with our schedule whenever possible to accommodate any last minute newborn bookings. normally though, we recommend booking your session early on in your pregnancy once you've made the decision to have newborn portraits made so that we can guarantee you a spot in our schedule. the sessions are best done at 5-10 days, as positioning while they're asleep is much easier within this window. if this isn't possible, 8-12 days is our next choice. at 2 weeks and beyond, as they outgrow their newborn phase, our options become more limited and, while we're still able to create other types of great newborn photos, capturing them while asleep becomes much less likely. newborn babies that come early are sometimes an exception to this timing.

{BABY}
a baby photographer doesn't always have the easiest job.....but it's one of the best you could ever ask for!!! always a challenge and always rewarding, this is one of the most fun ages to photograph. babies are full of expression and the session itself becomes far more interactive....

scheduling baby portraits:
baby photography can be done at almost any stage. for a baby's first year we definitely recommend intervals somewhere in the neighborhood of: 3mos., 6mos., 9mos., and 12mos. beyond that, just about anything goes!

{CHILDREN}
a modern children's photographer does at least one thing very differently from their traditional counterparts......... they let their images and (more importantly) their subjects breathe!!! they let kids be themselves and most of all they honor the purity that is childhood. well......at least that's what we aim for!

scheduling children's portraits:
for kids of all ages! that first year is a busy one, but afterwards we encourage longer intervals between your children's portraits. some families wish to do annual portraits for their Holiday Cards and others are content with an 18-24 month cycle.

{FAMILY}
our family portraits are anything but traditional. yes, we will do some family groupings with eyes and smiles to the camera, but capturing natural moments and interaction is what we're really all about!

scheduling family portraits:
family photography tends to be most popular between spring and fall when everyone starts thinking about Holiday Cards and gifts. outdoor family portraits are typically done in the mid-late afternoon, working towards sunset for the best light. some locations are okay earlier if there's good open shade and indoor locations are of course fine anytime there's sufficient good quality light coming in.

we invite you to have a look around our site. if you like what you see, please get in touch! we'd love to connect!